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Application search woes

rahul-gupta
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Searching an application is one of the most difficult issues smartphone users are facing today as most of the actual stores do not provide the desired results upon an app search request, according to a study.

Getjar, a third party application store who did the study, found that only 25 per cent or just 1/4th of the total app users are able to find the application they are searching for using an app store search.

Half of the respondents say that they discovered applications while browsing the internet and 17 per cent came to know about an application from friends and other sources.

Even though the sources are scattered at the moment but people are showing interest in applications with almost 34 per cent of them spending more than an hour daily on applications, the poll has found.

The growing popularity of applications also indicates that smartphones are slowly but gradually getting popularity. The growing popularity of smartphones has also been confirmed by Ovum, an independent research agency.

Ovum has recently said that smartphones will constitute almost 40 per cent of the global mobile phone market by the year 2016.

Meanwhile, the GetJar study has also found that gaming apps are the most popular, followed closely by social networking apps.

It also said that the amount of free apps and the ease of search are the two most important things that users are looking for in an app store.

“The cost of an app was also the biggest deciding factor in whether to download an app or not,” says Getjar.

Nokia to continue Symbian support even after Windows Phones arrive

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Despite opting Windows Phone 7 operating system for its forthcoming smartphones, Nokia has decided to continue its support to Symbian platform.

About the Symbian updates, Nokia open letter says, “The first major update will arrive in summer, delivering a new home screen, new flexible widgets, new icons, a faster browser, new Navbar and a fresh look and feel to Ovi Store and Ovi Maps, including integration of social media services in Ovi Maps”.

The existing Symbian users will, thus now, be rest assured that they will get support from the company even when Nokia will no longer sell new Symbian phones.

About the hardware improvements, the open letter says, “Over the past weeks we have been evaluating our Symbian roadmap and now feel confident we will have a strong portfolio of new products during our transition period &#151 that is 2011 and 2012. These devices will take advantage of the strong integration of devices and services as well as our strength in areas such as imaging and location-based services.”

At the same time, the hardware for Symbian phones will also continue to get better, including faster processors. Nokia plans to replace Symbian with Windows Phone 7 over the next two years, thus making the users and developers worried about the sooner demise of Symbian platform.

Nook Color becomes a tablet

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Nook Color, an e-reader, could soon be converted into a tablet computer with a forthcoming update of its software, Barnes and Noble has indicated.

Barnes and Noble, the maker of Nook, has indicated this on Home Shopping Network.
Operated with 2.1, Nook Color primarily offers ebooks, preloaded games and a web browser, but Nook users till now do not have access to app stores, and nor does Nook support Flash.

Also, earlier, people who want to root their Nook to access Android Market used to get their device’s stuck because Barnes and Noble treated rooting as a type of jailbreaking.

The update, which will arrive in April, will provide users access to new apps, email features, and some other new functionality. Nook Color owners will also get a whole bunch of other applications including Angry Birds, Drawing Pad, Tikatok, and Lonely Planet Phrasebook.
Those who plan to buy Nook Color from Home Shopping Network will be interested to know that it is available at $50 (about Rs 2,250) less from the Barnes and Noble website.

Earlier,a Wall Street Journal story wrote about how to root Nook Color, and said it was working very much like an Android tablet. The writer picked up the rooting method from Ars Technica website.

However, Barnes and Noble itself hasn’t confirmed the software update news.

Gameloft games now exclusively on Amazon app store

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Gameloft, a French video game publishing company, has joined hands with the Amazon AppStore for platform. Its games will now be available exclusively on Amazon.

Gameloft has decided against using the Android Market as the store is prone to piracy. While, Amazon supports Digital Rights Management (DRM), which limits the use of digital content and devices and prevents unauthorised copying.

“The Amazon ecosystem is controlled where we don’t find too many pirated version of our games or malware games, so for the consumers, it will be a safer place to come and get applications,” Guillemot, chief executive, Gameloft, said in an interview to Reuters.

Gameloft has assured its customers that there would be no malware attached with the games and they can buy using their credit cards from the Amazon marketplace.

Amazon has decided to control the complete approval process of all the apps and games at all stages, just the way Apple operates, to make sure only quality games and apps are allowed at the Amazon AppStore.

Rovio, the maker of Angry Birds, is already present there on the Amazon AppStore for Android platform. Apart from Gameloft, Amazon Appstore has other popular titles such as the Modern Warfare, Uno, Assassins Creed, and Ultimate Spiderman Total Mayhem.

Most probably, Amazon is going all out to get all the major game publishers on their platform to make themselves a serious candidate in the crowded app marketplace.

Google Latitude gets updated for iPhone

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Google has now added the Check-In functionality to the latest version of Google Latitude for iPhone users. iPhone users can now download the latest version of this application free of cost from the Apple store.
The Check-In functionality was added to the Google quite some time back.

With Check-In Latitude, users can share their location and current details (down to the very place where they are) with other Latitude users on the network.

With the addition of the check in feature, Latitude has become a direct competitor for the popular Foursquare application which is available across all platforms.

Even the Latitude has some of the very similar functions as the Foursquare such as the ‘detailed location sharing’ and rewards to regular visitors who were tagged as VIP, or showing users available nearby.

Google has also revealed that it is testing the Check-In application for marketing purposes, where the users will be offered schemes and discounts from nearby stores and shops. But this is currently under testing phase and might be soon implemented in the upcoming version of Latitude for the world.

Samsung bada app store crosses 100 million downloads

The Mobile Indian Network
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Within a year of launch, Samsung’s bada store has reported over 100 million downloads.

Samsung bada is a smartphone platform for a wide range of devices. It was unveiled in 2010. “Bada” is a Korean word that means “ocean” and “seashore”. The operating system platform currently has 13,000 applications.

“We are anticipating that Samsung Apps will show a rapid growth in 2011, especially with a variety of the upcoming bada device line up,” said Kang-Hyun Kwon, senior vice president of the media solution center at Samsung Electronics.

To mark the occasion, the handset maker has announced weekly prizes such as Samsung Galaxy Tabs, Galaxy Players, drives and vouchers. To be eligible for a prize you have to download an app from Samsung Apps on a supported phone such as Wave, Wave II, Wave 525, Wave 533, Wave 575 or Wave 723.

One lucky winner will be selected randomly in a draw. The contest will run from March 25 to April 30.

In contrast to bada, Apple’s app store saw its 10 billionth app download within only two years of release while, according to estimates, 3.7 billion apps have been downloaded so far.

Google group texting app Disco now on iPhone

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Google has launched a group texting application, Disco, for the iPhone devices. Disco provides group texting services through an and a website interface.

Wannabe users can download the app from Disco’s website from their iPhone. Interestingly, ‘The download an app link” on the Disco website goes to the Apple website.

Initially the app will work only in the US, and those who sign in will get a new phone number.

Using the group texting app, users may send messages to as many people they want, but they should also make sure their group members have also chosen the unlimited messages option, because the text messages will keep bouncing around all the time.

Disco was made by Slide Inc, which was in turn acquired by the Google sometime back. Google had announced at the time of acquisition that it is planning to create ‘a more social web’, which was considered cryptic because no specific product plans were shared then.

With the group texting app launch now, the picture is becoming clearer.

Surprisingly, Google has decided to launch Disco first for iPhone devices and not on Android. It could be due to the face that Slide has made iPhone apps earlier also.

The app is expected to be available for the devices soon.

Google adds ‘instant’ to mobile search

rahul-gupta
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Making faster search even faster, Google has added the instant search functionality to mobile browsers. Although in its Beta phase, the Google instant displays search results as fast as the user types. Google, with the addition of Instant, aims to conserve 2-5 seconds in each search conducted.

Google Instant is a new search enhancement that shows results as you type. It identifies the words based on the keystrokes or characters entered and basis that automatically conducts a search for the related term without the need of hitting the send or the go button by the user.

The Instant search enhancement, however, comes as an optional enhancement which works on the user’s discretion. Users, who want to use this service, can activate it or can use the classic search itself.

With services starting all over India and data speeds rising drastically, the Instant search would make mobile search a lot more satisfying affair.

Idea rings in the ‘Power of 3G’

The Mobile Indian Network
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Idea Cellular launched its services on its network in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh today. Idea has also unveiled a new 3G logo.

The third generation of mobile communication systems let customers use an extensive range of high-end data services on a wide variety of handsets and other devices.

Idea has set up ‘Experience Kiosks’ to provide a flavour of the services that customers can opt for. These will be available to all users at select ‘My Idea’ stores.

On the occasion of the 3G launch, Himanshu Kapania, deputy managing director, Idea Cellular, said, “3G services will mark the beginning of the next phase of India’s telecom growth story and bring the sector on par with the most advanced telecom markets in the world. Beginning today, Idea subscribers will be the first in India to experience the Gold Standard in 3G services.”

Currently, 10 per cent of Idea’s over 86 million subscribers are said to be using 3G enabled handsets. It is expected that these users will be the early adopters of 3G services.

Idea’s 3G services will be available in 200 towns by mid April, progressively growing at the rate of 10 towns per day to cover 750 towns by mid 2011, and 4,000 towns by the end of FY12.

Speaking about the 3G network rollout, Ambrish Jain, director, operations, Idea Cellular, said: “Beginning with MP, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and HP, Idea’s 3G services will expand in a progressive manner to provide expansive coverage across 4,000 towns by year end. Idea will target areas of industrial and commercial activity, centres of learning, and high potential rural hinterlands where is yet to make a breakthrough. Idea has set up the most extensive customer service network to educate customers on 3G and support their requirements, across the country.”

Idea’s 3G services will enable users to avail Video Conferencing, IdeaMall Application Store, Mobile TV, Video on Demand, and high-speed Internet Browsing.

IdeaMall is Idea’s Application Store which offers an entire catalogue of games and applications on Web and Mobile platforms.

With 3G, Idea users can do a range of things with ease such as downloading songs, watching videos on YouTube, audio, photo updates on Facebook, mail and other online media, movie downloads, watching mobile TV, e-mailing with attachments, blog postings, viewing photos, and Flash and Gaming.

Idea 3G, the teleco claims, will provide speed upto 21 on 3G handsets, and higher speed on other devices depending on the device capability.

Tariff Plans:

Idea has introduced Time based billing plan for 3G services enabling users to avail high-end data services without worrying about the volume of usage. Applicable for both pre-paid and post-paid users, this plan offers three different plans. For Rs 45, a user gets 30 minutes of talktime with a validity of one day, while for Rs 80, the users get 60 minute of talktime for a three day validity. Another plan under this for Rs 150 provides 120 minutes of talktime for seven days of validity.

To promote usage, Idea has also, introduced ‘sachet’ pricing offering attractive trial packages with per day billing for pre-paid users.

Under this there are two plans including an Rs 8 package, under which a user gets 10 of free data with a validity of one day. While for Rs 51, a user could get 50 MB of free data with three day validity period.

Time based packages are applicable for both pre and post paid connections. For Rs 45, one would get 30 minutes of talktime for one day; for Rs 80 one would get 60 minutes of talktime over three days; and for Rs 150, users can get 120 minutes of talktime over seven days.

Applicable for both pre and post paid users, Data Rate cutter plan offer Rs 55 package. Under this, a user gets 30 days of validity and will be charged 1 paisa for 10 of data download.

Dongle tariffs, applicable for pre and post paid connections, have three different options. Users by paying Rs 599, can get 2 of free data.

For Rs 750, a user can get 5 GB of free data and for Rs 1275, users get 10 GB of data usage. Users will be charged five paisa for every 10 KB of extra usage under this.

To know more about Idea’s 3G services, and to check handset compatibility, customers can log onto the company’s website

Idea had won G Spectrum in 11 circles that includes MP and Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Haryana, UP East, UP West, AP, J&K and Punjab.

Game Review: Roller Coaster Extreme

rahul-gupta
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Most of us, irrespective of our age, love roller coasters. So is what the game Roller Coaster Extreme tries to do, it thrills and entertains the players with different levels.

With the suburbs of New York in the background, the roller coaster goes through various twists and turns and the players’ job is to keep the coaster in speed by taking regular power ups and avoiding mistakes by simply tilting your phone left or right at the right time.

With 11 different roller coaster tracks, users are required to finish one track within a stipulated time after which only they will be allowed entry to the next level.

The graphics are quite impressive but users are advised to have a high end device to play the game. The game has a setup size of almost 11 so it is better to download it using a WiFi or a network.

The game has a unique game play and the addition of tilt to control feature adds a greater level of excitement in the users. However, the game has a slight downside also. In the game, only one person is seen sitting on the roller coaster which takes away all the realism form the game.

But ultimately the game can be enjoyed by users of all age groups and the biggest advantage is that this game is available free of cost. Users who wish to install this application can visit the Nokia OVI store of follow the following link to download.

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